Nigeria's army said it had repelled an attack on Monday by suspected Boko Haram militants on the city at the center of the conflict with the Islamist insurgency.

Major General Nicholas Rogers [url=http://www.cowboysauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-dorance-armstrong-jr-jersey.html]Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey[/url] , who heads Nigeria's military operations against Boko Haram, said that the situation in Maiduguri, in the northeast of Nigeria, was under control.

The government says it is on alert for Boko Haram attacks during the Christmas period and other festivals for Christians and Muslims.

Heavy gunfire was heard in the Molai area on the outskirts of the city on Monday evening, prompting residents to flee the district, two residents and an officer in a local vigilante group had said.

The vigilante commander, who asked not to be identified, said his group had joined the effort to repel the attackers.

There were no immediate reports of casualties nor any immediate claim of responsibility. It was also not immediately possible to identify the target of the assault.

Boko Haram has in the past targeted places of worship during religious celebrations, including attacking churches at Christmas or mosques during Muslim festivals or prayer times.

The last major Boko Haram attack on Maiduguri, a mainly Muslim city with a Christian minority, was in June, when the group launched an assault on the eve of a visit by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

(Agencies)

" " Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and vice premier, speaks at the opening ceremony of the 10th national congress of Taiwan compatriots in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 22, 2017. (XinhuaLi Tao)

BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Senior Communist Party of China(CPC) leader Wang Yang Friday called for more efforts to promotepeaceful development of cross-Strait relations and achieve nationalreunification.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureauof the CPC Central Committee and vice premier, made the remarks atthe opening ceremony of the 10th national congress of Taiwancompatriots.

The opening was presided over by Wang Yifu, president of theAll-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (ACFTC).

Wang Yang reviewed achievements made during the last five yearsand stressed new tasks given by the 19th CPC National Congress.

""Peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait andthe reunification of China is the shared dream and fundamentalinterest of all Chinese people,"" Wang said.

Wang called on ACFTC and its local branches to study andimplement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, adhere topeaceful development of cross-Strait ties, promote people-to-peopleexchanges, and strengthen its own capacity to accomplish itsmission of winning over the support of Taiwan people.

He called on Party committees and governments at all levels toexercise leadership and give greater support to the work ofACFTC.

The four-day congress is attended by over 300 representatives ofTaiwan compatriots from across the country. It will review thereport of the ninth ACFTC council and elect a new ACFTCcouncil.

Established in December 1981, the ACFTC consists mainly ofnative Taiwanese residing on the Chinese mainland. Enditem

"

BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Boosted by strong sales and investment returns, China's major industrial firms registered double-digit profit growth in May, adding to signs of a stabilizing Chinese economy.

Industrial companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 2.93 million U.S. dollars) reported about 626 billion yuan in profits in May, up 16.7 percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday in a statement.

This was faster than the 14-percent growth registered in April, and beats the 8.5-percent increase in 2016.

In the first five months, major industrial firms reported profits of 2.9 trillion yuan, a 22.7-percent increase from one year earlier, the NBS data showed.

"The data helps reaffirm our view that tightened financial regulation will have limited impact on the real economy," said China Merchants Securities (CMS) in a research note.

"With coordinated macroeconomic policies and bigger contribution by consumption and the service industry to the economy, there will be little downward pressure," it said.

The faster profit growth in May came despite moderated prices of industrial goods, measured by the producer price index, which slowed from a 6.4-percent year on year growth in April to rise 5.5 percent in May.

Stronger sales and increased return on investments have helped with the gains, while the double-digit growth could also be attributed, in part, to a lower comparison base last year, said He Ping, a NBS statistician.

Notably, the growth rate of finished goods inventory of major industrial firms slowed for the first time this year, signalling either stronger sales or a suspension of inventory replenishment, which companies have actively been doing since last July, CMS noted.

Tuesday's data also reflected better structure in the industrial sector, with equipment manufacturing taking a bigger share of all profits compared with April and consumer-goods manufacturing seeing faster growth, according to He.

Companies also reported healthier balance sheets. The average collection period for accounts receivables decreased from 39.1 days a year earlier to 38 days by the end of May, continuing a downward trend from the beginning of this year.

The leverage ratio continued to decline, with debt-asset ratio of major industrial firms dropping 0.7 percentage points year on year to 56.1 percent by the end of May.

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